


The String

by Mushaloons



Series: PRIDE MONTH 2018 [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Artist Keith (Voltron), M/M, Minor Matt Holt/Shiro, The String - Short Film, imagine a shiro who finally got a fucking nap, slight klangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-27 14:25:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15026609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mushaloons/pseuds/Mushaloons
Summary: It's szin's short film "The String", but starring Keith and Lance.





	The String

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The String - A story about soulmates || short film](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/391133) by szin. 



> (I suggest you watch the film before you read this fic. It's in Polish, but it's got subtitles for English speakers. If you really don't like reading subtitles, Featherfall Studios made a dub of the film in English which is just as good.)
> 
> (If you already watched it, Blanka is Keith and Jamie is Lance.)
> 
> (It's been slightly altered in some parts to fit the two of them better. For example, Keith doesn't assume Lance is a girl since Lance is predominantly a boy's name in contrast to when Blanka thought Jamie was a guy due to Jamie being a unisex name. And while Blanka's a photographer, Keith's an artist. And Keith's the smaller one.)
> 
> Most of the dialogue is szin's.

_I didn't have that damn string from the start._

“The red string that connects soulmates, your parents probably already told you about them. You are the only person who can see your own string. They’re the only clue which tells you where your soulmate currently is.

“Some people spend their whole lives trying to find their loved one, even starting as early as kids.” A few children giggled at this, some fiddling with their strings as Miss Porter talked.

“Others ignore them and wait until adulthood.” She continued. “It is also common knowledge that-”

A small, chubby hand went up in the air. “Uh, miss?”

The other kids went silent as Miss Porter looked at the kid who just interrupted her. His dark hair tucked behind his pale ears, big indigo eyes timidly staring back into hers. “Yes, Keith?” She said kindly.

“But,” he hesitated, then continued, voice lowered. “What if I don’t have the string?”

Miss Porter froze. She and the other children only gawked at the quiet boy, their eyes piercing into him like he was some animal on display at the zoo. Keith gulped.

* * *

_Twelve years later…_

“No you’re the cute one.”

“No, YOU’RE the cute one.”

Keith sighed and set down his fork, already losing his appetite just by the sight of his brother and his boyfriend, Matt, being all sickeningly sweet.  Another day, another time Shiro spends acting all lovey dovey with his soulmate. He glared at the two seniors. “Can’t you get a room or something?”

Matt chuckled and pushed up his glasses. “Sorry Keith,” he said. Shiro, the stupid bastard, only continued with his lip-attack on Matt’s neck, ignoring anything his younger brother said.

At this moment, Keith found himself missing Pidge. If they were here and not on the other end of the country, they would’ve made a snarky comment or a gag. Plus, he’d have someone to confide to. Pidge had a string, a soulmate bound to them, but it had been snapped long ago and they couldn’t care less. After all, they did have a better connection to technology than they ever did with other beings. But now, thanks to Mr. and Ms. Holt divorcing, they were all the way in Florida finishing high school.

Something buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled out his phone to see a reminder from his art teacher saying that he could stay in her class for the rest of the period. _Thank god._ He didn’t know how much more PDA he could handle from the two of them.

Ever since the kindergarten incident, his father had uprooted the family out of the Bay Area and relocated to sunny Arizona. (Surprisingly, for six year olds, his class was extremely ruthless with their taunts.) After that Keith learned not to go around talking about his nonexistent string. Sure, it was hard, having to listen to others gush about their soulmates and making up false information every time he was asked about his soulmate hurt a little more every time he had to fake it. But he got used to it, and soon his life began to be more normal, if you could call it that. He did his work, went to his martial arts and painting lessons, led a life with the least amount of soulmate drama possible.

Then one day, everything changed.

* * *

It was a Tuesday night when it happened. Just him, Tumblr, and his bed. He was scrolling through one of his favorite artists’ newest fanarts when he got it.

_(1) message in your inbox_

Keith blinked. _What was this? Someone wanted to talk to him?_

 _Maybe they found out that you were Stringless and want to mock you. Might as well open it then._ His fingers trembled as he moved them to click on the glowing envelope icon, heart drumming wildly in his chest.

His heart stopped the second the screen loaded and the message appeared.

_Unknown: Hey, I really like your art! You’re so talented!_

His face flushed bright red at the compliment.

_Keith: Thanks for the compliment._

Almost instantly, a reply popped up.

_Unknown: HOLY SHIT ADJFCFIJFIJLCK_

_Unknown: O H M Y G O D Y O U R E S P O N D E D_

_Unknown: YOU RESPONDED!!!_

_Unknown: IM SO BLESS IM THE LUCKIEST PERSON EVER OML THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS ART!!_

Keith chuckled softly under his breath, typing out his response. _Wow, was this person energetic. It’s...kinda cute._

_Keith: I’m still kind of shocked that someone actually likes my work. I never thought my art was something people would want to look at._

_Unknown: You kidding? You’re like my favorite artist ever. Don’t tell my mama that though. She’d kill me if I ever said someone’s art was better than her’s._

His face went even redder. This person was really good with compliments.

_Keith: Thanks._

_Keith: Sorry, I’m really not used to compliments._

_Unknown: no prob. It’s nice having someone on this site not be overly pretentious for once._

_Keith: Hey you never know. What if I am very pretentious?_

_Unknown: mmm, i don’t think so._

He paused for a sec. What now?

_Keith: My name’s Keith. What’s yours?_

_Unknown: Lance._

_Lance._ Keith smiled softly to himself. That was a nice name. Lance. This guy seemed nice too, well, nice enough to reach out to him.

_Lance: You still there?_

He grinned.

_Keith: Yeah._

They were soon messaging daily, usually just check-ins to see how the other was doing. That rapidly changed to longer conversations ranging from art to random stuff like Legos. The nagging feeling in the back of his head urged him to tell Lance about his, um, ‘string situation’, but every time he tried he’d lock up and change the subject. He knew that eventually he’d have to come clean and tell Lance, but a small part of him wanted to stay like this for a little longer. To have a soulmate-free friendship.

_Keith: I need to tell you something_

The reply was instantaneous.

_Lance: ooh spooky tell me_

_Lance: wait_

_Lance: are you ok??_

Concern laced the edges of his words, making Keith’s heart swell a little, at the same time making the lump in his throat grow more suffocating. He gulped. Well, here goes nothing.

_Keith: I don’t have the string_

This time, Lance didn’t reply right away. Keith began to panic. _ohshitohshitohshit what was he going to do now Lance probably thinks he’s so weird and wants to unfriend him ohnoohnoohno-_

His laptop pinged, and he forced himself to look at what Lance had responded with.

_Lance: omg_

_Lance: ME NEITHER_

_What?_ Keith’s eyebrows furrowed as he reread the message. Were his eyes deceiving him? Did he really meet someone else without a string?

He felt a dull tug on his finger and choked on a gasp when he saw what had formed. A bright, vibrant red string was tied to his ring finger, stretching across his bedroom floor and out the window.

Keith leaped out of his chair and practically flung himself at his bedroom window, watching as the string kept growing, draping itself over trees and roofs and cars as it made its way to connect with the other end which was sure to be wrapped around the finger of his soulmate.

His laptop buzzed, bringing him out of his thoughts and he walked over to the glaring screen to see the message.

_Lance: holy cow i think my string just formed_

His fingers tripped over each other as he fumbled to make a response.

_Keith: mine too_

_Lance: does that mean we’re soulmates???_

_Keith: oh my god WE ARE_

Realization sunk in. Holy shit, he had a soulmate. Keith had a soulmate. As in, Keith mcfucking Kogane had an actual living, breathing SOUL. MATE. The blood drained from his face just as fast. What if Lance was lying? What if whoever was on the other end of the string was tracking him down right now to kill him?

 _Calm down,_ he chided himself. _Does Lance really seem like the type of person to be an axe murderer?_

_Well, how do we know what an axe murderer’s personality is like?_

Fuck it. This night was weird enough already. And besides, you only live once. Worse case scenario, he’d have to call the cops.

Keith went to bed completely confused but slightly elated. But not before a quick Google search on axe murderers.

* * *

Months passed, flying away faster than feathers in the wind. Keith and Lance kept talking, getting to know each other better. Lance was the same age as him, albeit a little younger, and was at the Florida branch of the Garrison. When asked about Pidge, Lance perked up immediately. “Hell yeah I do!” He exclaimed, lighting up like a brand new (plastic) Christmas tree. “They’re one of my best friends.”

“At least we’ve got that in common.”

Talking to Lance was way easier in comparison to his usual interactions with people. He was laid back and friendly (Even though Pidge _insisted_ he was actually an obnoxious loudmouth who flirted with way too many people before meeting Keith), even if his pick-up lines and jokes were total shit. Keith was starting to sort of, kind of, fall in love with him.

Everyone around him noticed the changes, especially Shiro. “You know, I remember a long time ago it used to be me that got told to stop being so sickeningly sweet,” he teased. “Can’t believe it’s you now.”

“Shut up,” was his reply every time, but he couldn’t stop how flustered he got when he thought about it. So what if it meant that his family members were gonna get even more irritating? He was really happy. And it stayed that way-

Until Lance stopped talking to him.

It wasn’t quick. He just stopped responding as quick, taking hours or days or even weeks to respond to his messages, until he just...didn’t anymore.

Keith knew what people disappearing from his life felt like. His mom disappeared less than a year after Keith was born, leaving his dad to take care of both him and Shiro. Then, he started fading away, working longer hours to provide for the three of them. Shiro was still there, but he had his own group of people. Friends? Never stuck around much. Once they found someone cooler or handsomer or just better in any aspect they were gone, like _poof_.

But he never knew what to do if Lance left him. He wasn't like  
  
Several weeks after Lance stopped talking, Keith messaged him one last time.

_Keith: please tell me you're okay_

_Keith: please_

He stopped, took a deep breath, then continued typing.

_Keith: i love you_

He was about to put his laptop away when the soft ping of a response stopped him.

_Lance: hey_

_Lance: i'm so sorry i didn't answer_

_Keith: oh thank god you're alive_

_Keith: is everything okay??_

_Lance: um_

_Lance: i'm going overseas for 2 years_

What?

_Keith: i didn't even get to meet you yet_

_Keith: i'm coming to see you right now_

_Lance: you cant_

_Lance: i'm leaving tomorrow @ 2 and you live in arizona_

_Lance: i'm so so sorry i didn't tell you sooner_

_Lance: we'll see each other soon!_

_Lance: 2 yrs isn't so long. it'll be over before you know it_

_Lance: we can message each other still_

_Lance: I'm so sorry Keith. I love you._

 

Keith sat in stunned silence, eyes glued to his phone, body numb. This, this couldn't be happening. What kind of sick joke was this? There was no way this was real, it couldn't be. 

 _But it is,_ a voice said softly in his mind.  _And it's not like you can take the train right now and go to Florida-_

Wait. But he could. And he can. All of the sadness and confusion was drained from his body as he swiftly wiped away the tears, a plan forming in his mind. He leaped off his bed and began to grab things to shove in his backpack. Earbuds, map, wallet, phone. 

 

He didn't even care how loud his footsteps were as he bolted down the stairs and out the door.  _Thank god for Shiro being a heavy sleeper._

The bike ride to the train was fast, though mostly consisting of him running red lights and nearly hitting a few people. He sloppily parked his bike randomly in the lot and ran towards the ticket station. "Two-way ticket to Florida please."

The second his ticket was printed, he snatched it out of the suspicious employee's hands and raced to his train, barely jumping in before the doors closed. It wasn't until a long while later, when the train had stopped in New Mexico, that he realized what he had done.  _Oh shit, he was gonna be so screwed._

* * *

"LAST STOP, TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA." The robotic voice droned.

Keith rubs his bleary eyes, blinking in the sight of passengers getting their stuff out of compartments. His backpack, thank god, is still strapped securely to his chest. 

The sun is bright when he steps out of the train, making him squint. He looks down at where the string was tied around his finger. _Alright string_ , he thinks as he makes his way through the station. _Don't fail me now._

_12:52 PM_

He still has eight minutes. He can make it.

_12:53 PM_

The string led upwards. Keith runs up several escalators, mumbling apologies as he pushes through the crowds. 

_12:57 PM_

Keith gets lost for a few minutes. His string loops around several places, making him have to go all over the place to find out where the hell it wanted to go. The time only made his teeth clench harder. He came this far already. There was no way he was going to let go so soon. 

_12:58 PM_

Turns out Lance is on the fourth floor of the station. Keith's legs ache horribly now, due to the amount of running and the fact that he hasn't stretched after a 12 hour nap on the train ride, but he pushes through it.

_12:59 PM_

He now has less than a minute before Lance boards the train. A surge of adrenaline keeps him motivated while he darts around following his string. The train to the airport is only a few more yards away, and his heart leaps at the thought of seeing his soulmate in person. All he had to do was focus on beating the clock.

The escalator is broken when Keith gets to it, and he has to be careful as he hops around the elderly people making their way down (honestly, where the fuck are the elevators?) He runs down the platform, sidestepping kids and dodging adults twice his size. The string's distance was rapidly shortening now, all he had to do was run a few more feet-

"Woah!" He bumps into someone's back and stumbles a little. The person's hands fly to steady them both, and that's when Keith notices it.

On the left hand of the other person was a red string, tied beautifully like a gift on his ring finger. Keith freezes, then looks up. His heart is beating so fast now, faster than it had been when he first discovered his soulmate. 

Blue eyes meet purple.

Lance blinks. The shine of his glasses are a little less severe than the ones coming from his earrings, so Keith can still make out the bright cerulean hiding being the lenses. 

His gaze drops to their interlocked hands. Keith feels as Lance's body stiffens making him drop his gaze too. His face is flushed, burning brighter than the sun, and he pulls out of Lance's grip to straighten himself.

But Lance is quicker, one hand diving to softly grasp Keith by the chin. Keith waits patiently as Lance studies the outlines of his face, eyes drifting from one feature to another. "God," he breathes. There's the faintest trace of an accent. His breath smells like coffee. "You're even more beautiful than I expected."

He blushes, and his eyes avert to look down at his sneakers. "Same goes for you too." He manages to squeak out.

Lance chuckles. "You're tinier too," he murmurs. "I expected you to be the same height as me."

Keith playfully punches him in the shoulder. "Yeah yeah, we all can't be super tall like you."

They both laugh, and Keith swears his heart never doubled so big in his life until that moment.

They spend the next half an hour like that, catching up on everything. When Lance finally has to depart, Keith denies any accusation of him standing on his toes to kiss his lips. Nope, definitely didn't happen.

(It definitely did though)

**Author's Note:**

> w h y i s i t e a s i e r f o r m e t o t y p e 'i l o v e y o u' t h r o u g h f i c t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r s t h a n a c t u a l l y s a y i n g i t ? ? ?
> 
> Alright I don't live in Arizona or Florida so lets just say they have a train to get to each other's states m'kay? 'cause i don't actually know if they do. Also let's say it takes 12 hours to do so instead of god-knows-how long. 
> 
> OH-KAY I FUCKING FINISHED THIS FINALLY IT'S 11 PM AND TOTALLY UNEDITED WELL FUCK IT I NEED TO SLEEP BYEEEEEEEE


End file.
